Maoist from Andhra escapes during police encounter at Odisha’s Malkangiri

On Monday, Maoist leader Dubashi Shankar who was involved in at least 66 recorded incidents of Maoist violence in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including an attack on an explosives’ warehouse of Nalco at Koraput’s Damanjodi in 2009, was arrested from Boipariguda in Koraput district.

Published on: Sep 17, 2021, 24:37:10 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Three days after senior Maoist cadre Dubashi Shankar was arrested from Boipariguda area of Koraput district, another senior Maoist managed to escape during an encounter with the police near the Malkangiri-Koraput border.

A senior Maoist leader managed to escape during an encounter with the police near the Malkangiri-Koraput border on Thursday. (Image used for representation). (PTI PHOTO.)

Malkangiri SP Prahalad Meena said a joint team of SOG, DVF commandos of the Odisha Police and BSF soldiers on Thursday busted a Maoist camp near Kumikhari-Badli Pahad reserve forest area on the Malkangiri-Koraput border and seized a huge cache of articles including a rifle and several rounds of ammunition.

Meena said that top Maoist leader Suresh Surana from Andhra Pradesh managed to flee from the spot. However, two Maoists have been arrested and the combing operation has been intensified in the area.

On Monday, Maoist leader Dubashi Shankar alias Mahender who was involved in at least 66 recorded incidents of Maoist violence in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including an attack on an explosives’ warehouse of Nalco at Koraput’s Damanjodi in 2009 that led to the death of 10 jawans of CISF was arrested from Boipariguda in Koraput district by a joint team of DVF, SOG and BSF.

Shankar, who was a special committee member of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee that operates on the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, carried a reward of ₹20 lakh on his head. Shankar planned most Maoist ambushes on the Andhra-Odisha border and was involved in the 2009 attack on explosives’ warehouse of aluminium major Nalco at Koraput’s Damanjodi guarded by CISF jawans.

The explosives stolen from the warehouse gave ample firepower to the Maoists for the next decades. He was also involved in the landmine blast at Govindpalli Ghat on the Koraput-Malkangiri border in April 2010 in which 11 policemen from Odisha were killed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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